NEW LOCAL GEOCACHE - Cova del Diví

When the Moors (after 800 years of occupation) were finally banished from Spain in 1609, many of them believed that their expulsion was only a temporary measure and that they would soon be allowed to return. Because of this, and also because of the speed at which they were forced to leave, this meant that they had very little time to get themselves organized. As a consequence some of the wealthier Moors decided it would be safer and easier to hide their valuable possessions, which they would then be able to retrieve on their return, but as history tells us, this anticipated return never happened.

Over 150 years later, in the 1770s, a local Sella man and farm labourer went to the market in Alicante to sell his cherries. While taking refreshment at an inn, he overheard a conversation between two Moors who had just arrived from Algeria. They were studying and trying to make sense of a crude and ancient map. The Sella man however recognised the landscape drawn on the map straight away, it being of the area of his home town of Sella and in particular, the location of a cave situated in the Divino Mountain. The cave could be identified by the position of the sun's rays at 8 in the morning. The Sella man said nothing to the two Moors and hurried home. With his mule, he headed out to the location described on the map which, being a local, he knew very well - The Divino Cave. There, after a long search, he found it, a large wooden chest, the corner of which was just visible, as it lay hidden in the depths of the cave. The chest contained precious metals and stones of unimaginable value and the life of this humble farm labourer and more significantly those of his his children and grandchildren were changed forever.

So, the question today is, if you set out on a 21st Century treasure hunt, will you find a geocache, or just maybe you'll find some real treasure that was left behind all those years ago?

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